Maharashtra

Maharashtra is not just a place for warbirds, but also for Tanks and Artillery guns. The Tank Museum is located in Ahmed Nagar and the Artillery Museum is in Deolali. Pic Courtesy : Nagarbazar.com

Maharashtra had a plethora of military installations prior to Independence. A large part of the state was part of the Hyderabad Nawab-dom and the British maintained many military bases and airfields in the area, most of them training establishments. Thus you have the Artillery Center at Deolali (near Nasik), the Armoured Corps center at Ahmednagar, the National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla, airfields at Ozhar, Lohegaon, Santacruz, Sambre (Belgaum), Nagpur etc.

Today Maharastra houses a major Air Force base at Lohegaon, and a Naval airbase at Mumbai. This coupled with the fact there are a lot of training establishments and the MiG factory at HAL, makes the state rich in warbird heritage.

There are a fair number of good Military museums in the state. The Armoured Corps museum in Ahmadnagar has more than 40 Tanks on display. The Regiment of Artillery Museum at Deolali too as artillery guns and a couple of aircraft on display. HAL Ozhar opened a small museum of thier own (with one aircraft). Once the Ex-INS Vikrant is opened as a floating museum (with atleast six aircraft), Maharashtra is the place for the "Military tourist".

Bell 47 VT-DXE is currently located at the Carver academy of Aviation in Baramati town in Maharashtra. Seen in recent years at 2007 Aero India show, the helicopter was restored to display status by Mr Shrikant Kotnis, a 90 year old RIAF/IAF veteran who was decorated for his service in the 47-48 Kashmir war. Mr. Kotnis has now written an appeal about the helicopter, after trying for years unsuccesfully to keep the helicopter airworthy.

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The Largest city in India in terms of population as well as economic activity, Bombay (Now Mumbai) sits on the western coast of India in the state of Maharastra. Being the hub of Economic Activity, Bombay receives considerable protection from Lohegaon Airbase near Pune, where MiG-29s and Jaguars are based.

Nasik is a district adjoining Thane and Ahemednagar in Maharastra. 12 km from Nasik, the IAFMaintainance Command has No.11 Base Repair Depot at an airfield called Ojhar , where MiGs are overhauled and Sukhoi fighters are built by HAL which shares this airfield. HAL was earlier manufacturing MiG-21s here.

Nasik is where MiGs go to retire - aircraft at the end of their technical life are refurbished for gate guardian duties and as school aids.

Nagpur is home to the Indian Air Force' Maintenance Command, which is based in Vayu sena nagar. Though Maintenance Command was originally formed in Kanpur, it moved to Nagpur in February 1964, when the then Defence Minister YB Chavan laid the foundation for the present HQ Building. The presence of Maintenance Command HQ in Nagpur ensures that there are several "Warbirds" in the city.

The National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla , at the outskirts of a Pune is the alma mater of the officers of the defence forces. Here Officer Cadets undergo training for three years before they are allocated to the defence arms for further training. perhaps to create a motivating environs, the NDA Campus is dotted with War Relics - both aircraft as well as tanks.

Pune is one of the largest cities in Southern India and one of the major Airbases, that the Indian Air Force inherited after the second world war. Originally called Poona, it saw sights of Tempests, Vampires, Canberras, MiG-21s and currently is a base for the Sukhoi-30 fighter.